Drivetrain malfunction

Fayt349 said:

Thanks all for the wishes. I really with this 4k would go towards the car loan instead but oh well.

Idk how to feel about the car and brand itself just yet. There's still a lot of doubt in my mind that a simple ribbon cable and T10 screw can completely destroy the entire shifter. There's a lot of things like "do the techs even know what they're doing (because it's such a new car)", "Is this just a bad dealership (obviously yes it is, but is that the reason why they're so difficult to work with)", "Did they just give up and declare the entire thing broken because they want money and are lazy"

One thing for sure, I won't be going to this dealership again, for sales or for service. And I'm a huge advocate for "Right to Repair" movement, not sure if anyone heard about that. But I also now realize how owning an EV is basically the exact opposite of that movement. I have a new appreciation for the basic normal car. Anything goes wrong you know you can fix it on your own. You don't need special tools that only dealerships have.

I really don't want to keep the car with a bad taste in my mouth. I hope I can get past it and the rest of the car experience is fine.

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Fayt349 said:

Thanks all for the wishes. I really with this 4k would go towards the car loan instead but oh well.

Idk how to feel about the car and brand itself just yet. There's still a lot of doubt in my mind that a simple ribbon cable and T10 screw can completely destroy the entire shifter. There's a lot of things like "do the techs even know what they're doing (because it's such a new car)", "Is this just a bad dealership (obviously yes it is, but is that the reason why they're so difficult to work with)", "Did they just give up and declare the entire thing broken because they want money and are lazy"

One thing for sure, I won't be going to this dealership again, for sales or for service. And I'm a huge advocate for "Right to Repair" movement, not sure if anyone heard about that. But I also now realize how owning an EV is basically the exact opposite of that movement. I have a new appreciation for the basic normal car. Anything goes wrong you know you can fix it on your own. You don't need special tools that only dealerships have.

I really don't want to keep the car with a bad taste in my mouth. I hope I can get past it and the rest of the car experience is fine.

Click to expand...

Fayt349 said:

Thanks all for the wishes. I really with this 4k would go towards the car loan instead but oh well.

Idk how to feel about the car and brand itself just yet. There's still a lot of doubt in my mind that a simple ribbon cable and T10 screw can completely destroy the entire shifter. There's a lot of things like "do the techs even know what they're doing (because it's such a new car)", "Is this just a bad dealership (obviously yes it is, but is that the reason why they're so difficult to work with)", "Did they just give up and declare the entire thing broken because they want money and are lazy"

One thing for sure, I won't be going to this dealership again, for sales or for service. And I'm a huge advocate for "Right to Repair" movement, not sure if anyone heard about that. But I also now realize how owning an EV is basically the exact opposite of that movement. I have a new appreciation for the basic normal car. Anything goes wrong you know you can fix it on your own. You don't need special tools that only dealerships have.

I really don't want to keep the car with a bad taste in my mouth. I hope I can get past it and the rest of the car experience is fine.

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bdh1119 said:

Did they give an idea how long the repairs would take? Wonder if they have to get the module from the land of the schnitzel….

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Fayt349 said:

I have a new appreciation for the basic normal car. Anything goes wrong you know you can fix it on your own. You don't need special tools that only dealerships have.

Click to expand...

cruzer666 said:

@FreshxDough I seem to remember a post from you on this, are the steps mentioned by @Weebyx correct?

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FreshxDough said:

if you so much as disconnect the HV while it is active (even as little as one time), you can actually permanently damage the contactors in the safety box. and it will need to be replaced. if done incorrectly, even at the dealership, BMW can refuse the claim for such damage as the repair instructions were not followed properly.

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Mr. Widget said:

I just ordered an i4 because my current super charged ICE car from another German brand has annoyed me for the last time. ALL modern cars are a hybrid of computers and traditional mechanics. Unfortunately none are particularly repairable.

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Fayt349 said:

This shouldn't like this. Maybe this is what happened to me, but it shouldn't be designed this way.



I have a new love for older cars, like 2000s era now.

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FreshxDough said:

I’m not an engineer but when you have 300+ volts it’s not ideal to just pull apart the switch contactors before shedding off the voltage. It’s like taking 120v house outlet and just arcing it, but make it DC and 300+ volts. In the event of an accident terminal 30C
Is tripped and can perform a hard shutdown of the HV system (immediate opening of switch contactors). If you can not work on a HV vehicle properly then I don’t think you should (not talking to you specifically, everyone in general.

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Fayt349 said:

This shouldn't like this. Maybe this is what happened to me, but it shouldn't be designed this way.



I have a new love for older cars, like 2000s era now.

Click to expand...

Fayt349 said:

Thanks all for the wishes. I really with this 4k would go towards the car loan instead but oh well.

Idk how to feel about the car and brand itself just yet. There's still a lot of doubt in my mind that a simple ribbon cable and T10 screw can completely destroy the entire shifter. There's a lot of things like "do the techs even know what they're doing (because it's such a new car)", "Is this just a bad dealership (obviously yes it is, but is that the reason why they're so difficult to work with)", "Did they just give up and declare the entire thing broken because they want money and are lazy"

One thing for sure, I won't be going to this dealership again, for sales or for service. And I'm a huge advocate for "Right to Repair" movement, not sure if anyone heard about that. But I also now realize how owning an EV is basically the exact opposite of that movement. I have a new appreciation for the basic normal car. Anything goes wrong you know you can fix it on your own. You don't need special tools that only dealerships have.

I really don't want to keep the car with a bad taste in my mouth. I hope I can get past it and the rest of the car experience is fine.

Click to expand...

Fayt349 said:

If anything it should just break the part replacing, not everything else. I'm not an electrical engineer either, but if it just broke that one knob I'd like "k fine".

But the dealer (and you) are saying it breaks literally everything. That just logically makes zero sense to me. Again I'm not an electrical engineer so who knows.

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Purify said:

To be fair to the engineers, the vehicles are designed to be safe, feature rich, as cost conscious as possible, delivered within tight timelines, reliable, and with a robust supply chain. User modifications are way way down the list of priorities. There is a big difference in designing a system that is servicable and one that is modifable by novices.

Having said that, I 100% feel for you and understand your frustration. Its wild that a simple mod could have such a negative effect. A better design wouldn't be so sensitive.

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Linkou said:

Given everything discussed/learned here, would you be comfortable letting anyone besides BMW even replace your 12V? It seems like with these cars one may be dealing with low probability, but catastrophic consequence risk. One seemingly trivial mistake can apparently cook the car and with the voltages involved even cook the DIYer.

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Linkou said:

Given everything discussed/learned here, would you be comfortable letting anyone besides BMW even replace your 12V? It seems like with these cars one may be dealing with low probability, but catastrophic consequence risk. One seemingly trivial mistake can apparently cook the car and with the voltages involved even cook the DIYer.

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Mr. Widget said:

I agree with the sentiment that the simplicity of cars like the '66 Mustang is to be cherished. That said, we all also really enjoy the safety and convenience of modern cars and especially ones as advanced as the i4.

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Mr. Widget said:

I agree with the sentiment that the simplicity of cars like the '66 Mustang is to be cherished. That said, we all also really enjoy the safety and convenience of modern cars and especially ones as advanced as the i4.

Unfortunately true. If a junior technician at the BMW dealership screws up, then BMW will be on the hook for the repair. If we attempt a repair or mod on our own and things go badly, we are on our own. These experiences show us just how quickly a simple thing can turn really ugly.

I for one really appreciate everyone on this thread sharing their experiences and helping us all learn from each other's experiences.

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Fayt349 said:

If anything it should just break the part replacing, not everything else. I'm not an electrical engineer either, but if it just broke that one knob I'd like "k fine".

But the dealer (and you) are saying it breaks literally everything. That just logically makes zero sense to me. Again I'm not an electrical engineer so who knows.

Click to expand...

Linkou said:

Given everything discussed/learned here, would you be comfortable letting anyone besides BMW even replace your 12V? It seems like with these cars one may be dealing with low probability, but catastrophic consequence risk. One seemingly trivial mistake can apparently cook the car and with the voltages involved even cook the DIYer.

Click to expand...